Crazy Old Hermit
by Jedikma
Summary: 12-year-old Luke Skywalker and his friends explore old Ben's hut to find out more about him, only Luke ends up finding out something about himself.


Title: **Crazy Old Hermit**  
  
Author: Jedikma  
  
Timeframe: Between episodes III and IV  
  
Characters: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Siri Tachi  
  
Rated: G  
  
Summary: 12-year-old Luke Skywalker and his friends explore old Ben's hut to learn more about the crazy old hermit, only Luke ends up finding out something about himself.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

* * *

**Crazy Old Hermit**  
  
Obi-Wan entered the humble dwelling that he called home, feeling exhausted. "I must be getting old. That trip into Anchorhead gets harder and harder," he said aloud.  
  
A soft feminine voice drifted through the room in answer. "You will never be old to me, Obi-Wan."  
  
"Yet when you look at me, clearly you can see the gray in my hair and beard. Surely you have noticed how much slower I move and how some things that used to come easily to me, can now be difficult." A heavy sigh escaped Obi-Wan's lips as he spoke in a chiding manner.  
  
"We all get older, Obi-Wan. It's what's in your heart that counts, you know."  
  
"That's easy for you to say, since you haven't aged. You still look youthful. No gray in your hair. No extra pounds around your middle."  
  
The woman laughed as she moved towards him. "You know how it is, Obi-Wan. You see me as you want to see me and I'm fortunate enough to have you see me as still young."  
  
"You will always be young and beautiful to me, Siri. You will always be full of life and have a spark in your eye. I simply can't imagine you any other way," Obi-Wan replied as he watched her sit down at the table in front of him. "Guess what? I brought you something."  
  
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, you shouldn't have. You know whatever it is I can't use it," she admonished him kindly.  
  
Obi-Wan moved to put down the bags he had brought into the hovel on top of the kitchen table. "I see things when I go into town and I think you will like them. It gives me happiness to get something for you. Surely you can humor an old man," he said with a hint of irritation in his voice.  
  
"I humor you all the time. You know I love you for bringing me things, but your credits are best saved for something useful, Obi-Wan."  
  
Obi-Wan frowned. "I can live without a few credits, Siri."  
  
"Okay then, what did you bring me this time?" Siri tucked her hair behind her ears as she spoke and Obi-Wan smiled as he noticed. It was a familiar habit that she had, one that endeared her to him.  
  
Obi-Wan reached into one of the bags and pulled out a small box. He opened the box and showed her the contents inside. "I know how you always loved chocolate confections, so I brought you these."  
  
A broad smile of delight spread across Siri's face and she looked at Obi- Wan with affection. "Yes, I always loved chocolate. What a treat! It is truly unfortunate that I can't eat them, but I could watch you enjoy them."  
  
Obi-Wan smiled. "Even you think I am a crazy old man, don't you, Siri?"  
  
"Not at all, Obi-Wan. After all, I am here for the express purpose of keeping you from going insane with loneliness."  
  
Obi-Wan laughed. "It is just your sense of humor, Siri, to appreciate the irony that you keep me from going insane, by making it look to the townspeople of Anchorhead that I am insane by buying things for a wife who they are sure does not exist."  
  
"It is not my fault that you draw such attention to yourself. I have told you before to be careful about that. Which reminds me, today you had visitors while you were out."  
  
Obi-Wan was suddenly alert at this last comment and looked Siri straight in the eye with concern. "Who? What did they want?"  
  
Siri pointed to the main living area before proceeding in that direction. "They were three curious boys wanting to find out more about the crazy old hermit that lives here. I heard them talking about the things the good townspeople say about you. You are gaining quite a reputation, 'Ben'."  
  
"I hope you managed to discretely scare them away," Obi-Wan said as he followed Siri into the living area. Upon entering he saw that a box against one wall had been opened and the contents were strewn on the floor.  
  
A look of concern spread over Obi-Wan's face as he hurried towards the box. "They didn't take anything did they?" Obi-Wan knelt down on the floor and began picking up the items, examining them one by one and carefully replacing them into the box. He also looked carefully in the box to see if anything was missing. He sighed in relief when he found the one thing he was searching for.  
  
"No, they didn't take anything, but one of them saw me."  
  
"Saw you?" Obi-Wan looked in surprise. "How can that be, Siri?"  
  
"This particular boy is strong in the Force. It was how he could open the front door. However, I was surprised he could see me as well."  
  
"Luke? It was Luke? He was here? What did he say to you? Oh no, what did you say to him?"  
  
"It was Luke Skywalker, but relax, Obi-Wan, I think I handled the situation well. He didn't seem to be afraid of me and I only told him enough to keep him from worrying or being afraid." Siri paused as Obi-Wan stared at her, then she rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "After all these years you still can't give me some credit?"

* * *

Twelve-year-old Luke Skywalker sat on his sleep couch in his cleanly decorated room and stared at the small stone he held in his hands. The woman had said he could have it, that it was special only to him because only he could feel its special qualities.  
  
Luke felt a little guilty for following his friends to Ben Kenobi's home out beyond the Dune Sea, but they would have gone without him anyway. The boys had seen the eccentric man come into town that afternoon and on a dare they went out to his place, knowing he was not there. Luke was simply drawn to the idea of finding out more about the curious hermit.  
  
For as long as Luke could remember, old Ben had been the topic of many conversations. People thought he was crazy to live so far beyond town; it was dangerous out there with the sand people and wild beasts. He lived alone, though people had talked about how he would sometimes buy things for a woman, (perfumed soap, a scarf, and little trinkets) so surely one must live out there too. Sometimes people said he could do things, mysterious things, like magic tricks, or Luke was under that impression.  
  
When Luke and his friends arrived at the old man's hut, it appeared they wouldn't be able to get inside even though there were no locks on the door. First Biggs tried the door and then Deak. When Luke palmed the door he felt a strange sensation and the door easily opened under his touch.  
  
The three boys then proceeded to explore the home. It was sparsely decorated, Luke noticed. It consisted of one main living area with a kitchen and bathroom attached. There were the usual furnishings that most people owned, but against one wall was a worktable covered with tools. Ben had some hobby, Luke guessed, but what kinds of things did he build?  
  
The other boys were immediately drawn to a large storage box near the worktable and Biggs casually began to dig through it as though he had been invited. The objects he pulled out were unusual and intriguing. One that caught Luke's eye was a cylinder shaped device that fit into his hand and gave off a strange sensation, much like the touch pad of Kenobi's front door.  
  
As the boys became involved in their exploration, strange things started to happen. At first it sounded like something in the kitchen are had fallen. Then a door slammed shut. Next a cup floated across the room. That was enough to send Luke's friends scurrying out the door, but Luke saw something attached to the cup that he was sure his friends didn't see. A woman held the cup in her hands as she walked across the room.  
  
Luke only stared as he watched the apparition move. She was beautiful. She appeared to be young, at least she wasn't old, and she was trim with short blonde hair. She was dressed like no other woman he had known, in a one piece pant suit, and she wore a utility belt around her waist that had attached to it one of those unusual cylinder shaped things.  
  
"Oh my, you can see me, can't you Luke Skywalker?" Her voice was soft and warmly feminine.  
  
Luke only nodded in response to her question, as he continued to stare.  
  
"It looks like I am going to have some explaining to do," the woman sighed. "Sit down for a moment, Luke."  
  
At this Luke suddenly found himself and motioned towards his friends, who were outside waiting for him in the speeder.  
  
"Oh, don't worry. They will wait for you." Then Luke felt a strange sensation of energy through the air as the woman arched her hand in the direction of his friends.  
  
Finally Luke found his voice. "Who are you? What are you? What did you just do to my friends?" Luke stuttered.  
  
"I just suggested to your friends to wait for you. They are unharmed and you will be unharmed, too. As for what I am, well, some cultures call me an apparition, some a ghost or poltergeist, some may even call me an angel, but I guess where I come from I am known as a Force signature."  
  
Luke stared in disbelief at this information. "Then, basically, you are no longer living?"  
  
"That would be correct," the woman confirmed.  
  
"But I can see you and I don't think my friends can."  
  
"That is also correct. Luke, you can see me because you are special. You have special powers, too, don't you? You can sense things before they happen and sometimes you can move things by just thinking about them."  
  
Luke only nodded at what the woman said and wondered how she knew.  
  
"I know this because I am familiar with such abilities. The man you know as Ben also has such powers. I had such powers in life as well. You are not alone. However, you must not yet reveal to anyone that you can do these things."  
  
"Why can't I tell anyone?"  
  
The figure moved towards him with a look of sympathy on her face. "Old Ben gets harassed if he is caught using his powers because many people do not understand and they are afraid of him. It would be the same for you, Luke. The day will come when that will not necessarily be the case and you won't have to hide what you can do, but for now it would be safer to keep these things to yourself. Do you understand?"  
  
Luke nodded again. "I think I do. People will think I am crazy just like old Ben."  
  
"It would simply be better for people not to think that. The day will come when you will learn more about what you can do and how to do it, but for now it is important for you to just be a boy." She smiled a pretty smile at him.  
  
Luke started for the door to catch up with his friends when he turned to the woman once again. "If I am like Ben and can do things like Ben, am I related to him?"  
  
"No, not by blood, but there are other connections."  
  
Luke was puzzled. "Am I related to you? Are you my mother?"  
  
The woman moved towards him and reached out to touch his face in affection as she smiled sweetly. Luke didn't feel the touch as much as he sensed it, but it did not scare him. "No, Luke, it was not my honor to be your mother. I know you have many questions, but now is not the time for them to be answered. You must be patient. One day you will find the answers. In the meantime, I have something for you that I'm sure Ben would want you to have."  
  
With that the apparition moved over to the chest where the boys had been digging and took something out of it. It was a single stone that she put into the palm of Luke's hand. "What is it?" Luke asked.  
  
"It is special, just like you, Luke. Do you feel anything from it?"  
  
"Yes. It feels warm to my touch and soothing."  
  
"Good. Keep this close to you and whenever you need to have some rest or peace, hold it and concentrate on it and you will feel better. It connects to you in a special way. Now go, your friends are waiting."  
  
Luke quickly exited the old man's home and caught up with his friends. It was strange, but his friends didn't realize they had waited for him. It was as though he was with them the whole time. Maybe that was what the woman did when she waved her hand; maybe she stopped time.  
  
As Luke sat in his room remembering the events of the afternoon, he realized he never was told the woman's name or who she was to old Ben. Perhaps she was once his wife. What was it she wore from her utility belt? Luke realized that he didn't get to ask the many questions that came into his mind, but she probably wouldn't have answered them anyway.  
  
Luke heard his Aunt calling him to dinner and he realized he had many things left to do yet today. He put his special stone into the drawer of his night table and hurried out of his room. He had to return to the job of just being a boy.

* * *

"So he wasn't afraid of you then?" Obi-Wan asked again as he picked a piece of chocolate out of the box he brought for Siri.  
  
"No, Obi-Wan. I didn't sense any fear from him. I sensed surprise, curiosity and even a touch of longing, but not fear. I also didn't sense any anger in the boy, like his father had at his age. There is still much innocence in him."  
  
Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on his couch in the main room. "That's good. That's very good. Owen and Beru are raising him well. He's a good boy. I just wish I could have seen him."  
  
"That may not have been a good idea, Obi-Wan. You must be patient. You will know when the time is right to see him." Obi-Wan nodded his head in agreement and understanding of what Siri was trying to say. Then she added with a smile, "Luke looks a little like Anakin, but he reminds me more of you. He's serious."  
  
Obi-Wan grinned at her. "Go ahead and say it, Siri. I'm boring."  
  
"I don't think you're boring, Obi-Wan. If I did I wouldn't be here with you now, so don't put words in my mouth."  
  
"Perhaps, but I know I drive you crazy with my 'seriousness' and you find it a challenge to loosen me up."  
  
Siri laughed. "That's why I love you so much. You don't mind my attempts at loosening you up." She sat down close to him.  
  
Obi-Wan took a bite of the chocolate candy. "I can see why you loved this stuff so much, Siri. It is good."  
  
Siri reached over and touched Obi-Wan's hands with hers. Obi-Wan sensed the touch more than he felt it. He could also sense delight brimming in Siri. "It's flattering to know I have influenced you in some small way."  
  
"You have influenced me in many ways and it is a joy to have you with me, even if it does make me seem crazy. I love you, Siri."  
  
"I know, Obi-Wan, and I'm here for as long as you need me."  
  
Fin


End file.
